Establishing Paternity

General FAQs

Paternity establishment can provide basic emotional, social and economic ties between a father and his child. Once paternity is established legally, a child gains legal rights and privileges. Among these may be rights to inheritance, rights to the father's medical and life insurance benefits,social security and possibly veterans' benefits. The child also has a chance to develop a relationship with the father, and to develop a sense of identity and connection to the "other half" of his or her family.

The caseworker needs as much information as you can give about the alleged father(s) and the facts about your relationship(s), your pregnancy, and the birth of your child. Some of these questions may be personal. The CSEA must keep the information that you give confidential. The CSEA requires the party seeking support to complete a questionnaire. You may need to provide birth certificates, proof of marriage, or court orders depending on the facts of your case.

Paternity can be determined by the evidence presented in court, including highly accurate tests conducted on the man, mother and child. Genetic test results indicate a probability of paternity and can establish a legal presumption of paternity. These tests can exclude a wrongly accused man and can also indicate the likelihood of paternity if he is not excluded.All parties in a contested paternity case must submit to genetic tests at the request of either party.

The more information that is provided to the CSEA, the better the chances that paternity may be established. When more than one man could be the father of a baby, each may be required to take a genetic test. These tests are highly accurate, and it is almost always possible to determine who fathered a baby and to rule out anyone who did not.

Either the mother, father, legal guardian, the child born out of wedlock, or the man alleging to be the father may request the establishment of paternity through the CSEA for a child born out of wedlock for whom paternity has not been determined.

How is paternity established?

Paternity can be established in Ohio by Paternity Affidavit, by an Administrative Order based on genetic testing results, or by Court Order. See also,"Who is a presumed father?".

When the child is born, the hospital should offer to assist with the signing of the Paternity Acknowledgement Affidavit. If both parents are willing to sign and paternity is not an issue, the hospital will assist you with completing the form and they will forward it to the Central Paternity Registry, free of charge. If anyone is presumed to be the father or if both parents are not willing to sign the document then the hospital can not assist with the signing of the Paternity Acknowledgement Affidavit. Keep in mind that this is a legally binding document, signed under oath. Please read it carefully and provide only truthful information.

If the Paternity Acknowledgement is not signed, the alleged father's name will not appear on the birth certificate. If the mother of the child is married, the name of the husband will appear on the birth certificate,without the need for the husband to sign an Acknowledgement Affidavit.The same conditions apply for filling out the form at the CSEA that apply at the hospital. If the Paternity Acknowledgement is signed and notarized at the CSEA the CSEA will send the document to the Central Paternity Registry at no cost to you. The CSEA strongly encourages genetic testing when a Paternity Acknowledgement has not been signed.

Either party may rescind the Paternity Acknowledgement Affidavit no later than 60 days after the date of the latest signature. After 60 days, an Acknowledgment is considered final and cannot be changed through the CSEA.

A man is presumed to be the natural father of a child when a final and enforceable determination of paternity does not exist and:

The man and child's mother are married to each other and the child is born during the marriage;

The man and the child's mother are married to each other and the child is born after the man and the child's mother file a separation agreement in court;

The man and the child's mother have been married to each other and the child is born within 300 days after the marriage is terminated by death, annulment, divorce, or dissolution;

The man and the child's mother attempted, before the child's birth, to marry each other by a marriage that was solemnized in apparent compliance with the law of the state in which the marriage took place, the marriage is or could be declared invalid.

The CSEA will make every attempt to notify all presumed and/or alleged father's of a date and time for genetic testing. A genetic sample will likely be drawn from the parties who are present. All parties may be tested at separate times.

Genetic testing is a quick and painless way to establish paternity. The CSEA generally uses the buccal swab (a large cotton swab) method by which a genetic sample can be collected by swabbing the inner facial cheek. The samples are collected by a trained technician.

How long will it take to get the results of my genetic testing?

Generally it takes three to four weeks to complete once the last necessary party is tested. The parties will receive copies of the test results and the administrative order depending on the results.

The state of Ohio requires a finding of 99% or higher to establish paternity. Upon receipt of a genetic test result of 99% or higher the CSEA will then issue an administrative order of paternity and would likely set the case for an administrative child support hearing. If the result is returned at 0.00% then the CSEA would issue an administrative order of non-paternity and then close the case for the alleged father.Although this is rare, if the results are between 1% and 98.9% the results are considered inconclusive, normally this means that one of the parties submitted an invalid genetic sample. If this occurs the case would then be referred for legal action.